At least five people died and 18 were injured, nine of them seriously, when two ferries collided in fog outside the Spanish port of Algeciras early yesterday.
The mutilated body of a sixth man was found floating in the vicinity. Rescuers believe he fell from the wrecked ferry, although they say he could have been an illegal immigrant drowned while trying to reach the Spanish mainland.
The crash occurred when the Ciudad de Ceuta, leaving Algeciras for the Moroccan port of Tangier, collided with the incoming Ciudad de Tanger, arriving from Tangier. The worst damage was to the outgoing vessel when the bow of the Algeciras-bound ferry ripped a large hole in its hull into its main passenger lounge. All the casualties, believed to be north Africans, were travelling in this lounge.
The Algeciras-Tangier route is popular with thousands of foreign tourists who take day trips across the Straits of Gibraltar to visit the North African port and Arab city. But few tourists choose to travel at such an early hour and no foreigners were among the casualties.
The accident took place at the peak period when tens of thousands of north Africans, who live and work in northern Europe, travel across France and Spain to spend their summer holidays with their families at home.
Extra ferry services are introduced during July and August to cope with the increased demand.